MUSIC: Fools Tongue channels Peter Gabriel
What a world where musicians can make music as progressive as the proggiest of prog-rock – in an Edmonton basement. Fools Tongue’s new album “New World” sounds like Sting meets Peter Gabriel in, er … words fail, a home recording studio. Don’t get that every day around these parts. “That’s our world,” says singer Luke […]
INTERVIEW: Sass Jordan on Canadian Idol, short attention spans
There is no alternate reality where American Idol and its ilk did not exist so we could all say, “See? Look how great popular music is without all these deluded show-offs to ruin it for everyone!” The Idols would’ve shown off anyway. These sort of TV talent shows just put inner workings of the pop […]
REVIEW: Free Candy sweet outside, bitter within
No amount of sexy name, boppy songs, marching band costumes, tooting horns, fuzzy bass and bloopy old Farfisa organs can hide the fact that the Wet Secrets is a damned dark band. Their new album Free Candy might give sensitive listeners the urge to slit their wrists – if it weren’t for all the delicious […]
RIP: David Finkelman pursued path less taken
Dave Finkelman, an immensely popular musician, CJSR DJ, friend, brother and son, tragically passed away on Jan. 27 after being struck by a car while he was walking in a marked crosswalk on Whyte Avenue. A short distance away from the Wunderbar – a venue the 27-year-old musician and his band Energetic Action performed at […]
Cheech and Chong and Gaye Delorme
Fans and friends remember Gaye Delorme as an incredible guitarist with a wicked sense of humour. He died of a heart attack in the summer of 2011 at the age of 64. He was frail and almost blind from diabetes in the last few years of his life, yet still capable of orchestrating the absurdity […]
Top 10 Edmonton albums of 2013
Perhaps Edmonton’s small number of live venues forces artists to refine their talents before they can find their way onto one of our stages. Perhaps it’s that many of the city’s most talented musicians ply their craft in a number of projects, spanning across genres, resulting in not only increased skill but a more rounded […]
FILM: Joy of discovery in CBGB
There are some spine-tingling moments in CBGB, The Movie. It’s the vicarious joy of discovery: Like seeing an unknown band called the Talking Heads play “Psycho Killer” for six pool-playing bikers in the most famous punk rock dive of all time. Or the Police. Or the Ramones. Patti Smith. Blondie. Iggy Pop. The Dead Boys. […]
RADIO: Nothing to lose in flip to CRUZ
From being almost dead last in the ratings, Edmonton’s 95.7 FM radio literally has nothing to lose in its boxing week flip to 95.7 CRUZ FM. The good news is that there’s going to be more rock on local radio now. Classic rock. As is customary in the industry before such a radical change in […]
Musicians rally for Edmonton Food Bank
It’s funny how so many local musicians are drawn to donate their time to the Edmonton Food Bank at this time of year. It must be an easy one to get behind because there are least five charity gigs worthy of mention. Almost all genres are accounted for: COUNTRY: Once again donating all net proceeds […]
Gaga over Lady Gaga coming to Edmonton
Remember the last time Lady Gaga came to town and her taxicab broke down on stage and they went to fix it and there was a piano inside? Hopefully they fixed the problem – because she’s coming back. Lady Gaga’s artRAVE: The ARTPOP Ball is pulling into Rexall Place on Monday, May 26. Tickets go […]
MORE ART, LESS POP: Art Bergmann returns to Edmonton
Art Bergmann and William Burroughs have a lot in common – they both suffered the plight of heroin addiction, and they both had the tendency to make people uneasy. They showed you sights you’d rather not see, tried to expose the unpleasant underbelly of society. And both of them did their very best to fling […]
SHOCKER: Nine Inch Nails now classic rock!
Here’s a big rock ‘n’ roll anniversary that went unremarked: Nine Inch Nails is 25 years old this year! Where is the Grand Quadrancentennial Celebration, the Silver Jubilee all-star tribute concert featuring Jay-Z and Eddie Vedder, the Cameron Crowe documentary “NIN100/4”? Here’s the real shocker: returning to Rexall Place on Sunday, Nov. 24 on the […]
